Eugene O'Neill received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1936, making him the first American playwright to receive the honor. - Provided by The World Almanac 2010

7/2/10

The brain has as many as 100 billion neurons, and they - along with their thousands of connections to other neurons - are very good at generating electrical impulses, and it doesn't much matter what time of day it is or what the person is doing, this electrical activity - powered by food, mostly sugar - in the blood, amounts to about 20 watts of power, or about the equivalent of the little light bulb in one's refrigerator. - Provided by The World Almanac 2010

7/3/10

Forty-nine percent of 18- and 19-year-olds in the U.S. were enrolled in college in 2007. - Provided by The World Almanac 2010

7/4/10

The nation's estimated population on this July Fourth is 309.6 million. - Provided by U.S. Population Clock

7/5/10

Herbert Hoover (1874-1964), a Republican, was president when the Great Depression began. He infamously declared in March 1930 that the U.S. had 'passed the worst' and argued that the economy would sort itself out. The worst, however, had just begun and would last until the outbreak of WWII (1939). - Provided by RandomHistory.com

7/6/10

The Great Wall of China is the longest man-made structure in the world. - Provided by RandomHistory.com

7/7/10

Pi is the most recognized mathematical constant in the world. Scholars often consider Pi the most important and intriguing number in all of mathematics. - Provided by RandomHistory.com

7/8/10

In 1964, the Organization of American States adopted an economic and diplomatic embargo against Cuba. Mexico was the only nation of 22 that refused to comply. - Provided by The World Almanac 2010

Each year in the U.S., 5 percent to 20 percent of the population on average gets the flu. About 36,000 die from flu-related causes. - Provided by The World Almanac 2010

7/11/10

Over the past 26 flu seasons, flu activity has peaked in February more often than in any other month. - Provided by The World Almanac 2010

7/12/10

The nation's total federal debt is 2011 is expected to exceed $14 trillion, about $47,000 for every U.S. resident. - Provided by Associated Press Article

7/13/10

Junk food became a part of the American diet during the 1920s, but it was through television advertising after WWII that junk food became more ubiquitous and nutritionists subsequently became concerned. - Provided by RandomHistory.com

7/14/10

The total cost of depression in the United States is estimated to be $44 billion each year: $12 billion in direct costs of treatment, $8 billion in premature death, and $24 billion in absenteeism and reduced productivity at work. These do not include out-of-pocket family expenses, costs of minor and untreated depression, excessive hospitalization, general medical services, and diagnostic tests. - Provided by RandomHistory.com

7/15/10

The U.S. record for the most precipitation in 1 minute is 1.23 inches, which fell in Unionville, Md., on July 4, 1956. - Provided by The World Almanac 2010

7/16/10

The Earth's plates move just a few inches a year - about as fast as a person's fingernails grow. This continental pattern predicts that 250 million years from now, a new supercontinent will be born. - Provided by RandomHistory.com

7/17/10

Autism is more common than childhood cancer, diabetes, and AIDS combined. Autism affects one in every 150 children born in the United States. - Provided by RandomHistory.com

7/18/10

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is the term for depressive periods that are related to a change of season. SAD is four times more common in women than in men. - Provided by RandomHistory.com

7/19/10

The world's most expensive funerals occur in Japan. Because of the extremely limited amount of space in Japan, a funeral that includes a burial can run up to and over thirty thousand dollars. Perhaps this is one reason why, at 98%, Japan has one of the highest cremation rates in the world. - Provided by The World Almanac 2010

7/20/10

The average heart beats 100,000 times per day -- in an average life span, this amounts to as many as 3 billion heart beats. The heart pumps blood through a series of vessels ranging in size from the aorta, which is as thick as a garden hose, to capillaries, which are so small a dozen of them could fit inside a human hair. Every 24 hours, the body's blood travels about 12,000 miles, a trip that comes close to equaling the Earth's circumference at the equator, around 24,800 miles. - Provided by The World Almanac 2010

7/21/10

A typical office computer keyboard is home to 3,000 germs per square inch. - Provided by The World Almanac 2010

The heart beats more than 2.5 billion times in an average lifetime. - Provided by Random History.com

7/24/10

The maximum length of a mammal's life is generally related to its size. Thus, a man's lifespan should be somewhere between that of a goat and a horse, between 10 and 30 years. However, humans have developed ways to protect themselves from predators and disease, increasing their average lifespan to 74.7 years in the United States. - Provided by RandomHistory.com

Red wines are red because fermentation extracts color from the grape skins. White wines are not fermented with the skins present. - Provided by RandomHistory.com

7/27/10

The Romans were the first civilization to use concrete and the arch with any notable skill. - Provided by RandomHistory.com

7/28/10

The Mines of South Africa can descend as far as 12,000 feet and reach temperatures of 130 degrees. To produce an ounce of gold requires 38 man hours, 1400 gallons of water, enough electricity to run a large house for ten days, and chemicals such as cyanide, acids, lead, borax, and lime. In order to extract South Africa's yearly output of 500 tons of gold, nearly 70 million tons of earth are raised and milled. - Provided by RandomHistory.com

7/29/10

Amid recession fears in March 2008, the price of gold topped $1,000 an ounce for the first time in history. By July 2010, the price per ounce climbed to $1,150. - Provided by RandomHistory.com

7/30/10

In 1950, Frank McNamara, founder of the Diner's Club, issued the first universal credit card in the United States. - Provided by RandomHistory.com

7/31/10

Meet the Press, which is the all-time longest-running television show and is still on the air, began in 1945 as a radio show called 'American Mercury Presents: Meet the Press.' - Provided by The World Almanac 2010